INHS details pipeline of homes, cites rising construction costs; Tompkins County approves $50,000 CHDF award for Varna (Freeze Road)

Kate De La Garza, executive director of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS), told the Tompkins County Legislature's Housing & Economic Development Committee on May 21 that INHS manages a broad set of programs across a seven-county footprint and is moving several projects toward occupancy while pressing against sharply higher construction costs.

The update, delivered in the Legislature chambers, covered INHS's homeownership programs, a Community Housing Trust (CHT) portfolio, a 151-pad manufactured-home community called Compass in Trumansburg, and rental development including Village Grove and a new Varna project on Freeze Road. The committee then moved and unanimously approved a negative environmental declaration for the Freeze Road (Varna) Apartments and authorized the county's $50,000 CHDF (Community Housing Development Fund) contribution to a $100,000 CHDF award (the town of Dryden contributed the other $50,000).

Why it matters: INHS said supply constraints and higher per-unit construction costs are constraining affordable housing development in Tompkins County. Committee members paired the brief with two routine, required steps in the CHDF process: a SEQRA negative declaration and an authorization to disburse county CHDF funds for the Varna/Freeze Road project.

INHS runs four principal lines of business, De La Garza said: property management and maintenance, homeownership programs (including down-payment assistance and counseling), management of a manufactured-home community, and multifamily rental development. "We own almost 800 apartments across our 7 county footprint," she said, and described roughly 550 units within Tompkins County properties and a broader 650+ unit portfolio when including some nearby counties.

De La Garza outlined recent and upcoming units. She said the Community Housing Trust (CHT) holds about 70 homes and that "we have 7 coming online in Ithaca this year" including four single-family modular homes on Sears Street, one on Cleveland (raised to meet a new flood map) and two ranch homes in Freeville. Trumansburg will receive 10 CHT townhomes adjacent to the Village Grove rental project. Village Grove itself, De La Garza said, is built to passive-house net-zero standards and includes ten CHT townhomes and 46 rental units that will serve residents from those exiting homelessness up to 60% of area median income.

On cost and construction capacity, De La Garza said the market has tightened markedly: "Modular is still just shy of $300 a square foot," she said, while "stick built is closer to 400." She described modular construction as a cost-reduction strategy for mid-size projects but warned that even modular pricing and a thin local construction market are major headwinds.

The presentation also described the Compass manufactured-home community in Trumansburg (151 pads, De La Garza said), of which roughly "75% homeowners and 25% rentals" are currently occupied; she noted approximately 50 empty pads the organization is trying to fill. De La Garza said INHS operates both supportive and set-aside units for special needs populations and partners with local providers such as Learning Web, Salvation Army, and the Advocacy Center to provide onsite services.

The committee discussed the Varna/Freeze Road project after De La Garza's remarks. Planning staff described the first CHDF step as the required environmental determination; the committee voted to adopt a SEQRA negative declaration for Freeze Road Apartments (doc ID 1370) and then to authorize the disbursement of CHDF funds (doc ID 13272). Shauna from Planning explained that the county share is $50,000 and the Town of Dryden will contribute $50,000 toward a total $100,000 CHDF award.

Committee members praised INHS's resident-services expansion, modular efforts and community partnerships. Several legislators asked for additional detail about project infrastructure costs and about how INHS supports residents in permanent supportive and set-aside housing. De La Garza described heightened coordination with service providers, a resident services staff hire ("Claire"), and organizational changes intended to reduce eviction risk and increase resident stability.

What the committee decided: The committee voted unanimously to adopt the negative declaration for Freeze Road Apartments and to authorize the county's $50,000 disbursement from CHDF toward the Varna project. Both votes passed without recorded dissent.

What remains unresolved: De La Garza and committee members emphasized the persistent implementation risks'notably limited local contractor capacity and high per-square-foot construction costs. INHS plans to proceed with modular construction for some projects and continue applying for LIHTC (Internal Revenue Code Section 42) and other competitive funding sources.

Looking ahead: INHS said Varna/Freeze Road will serve workforce incomes and households exiting homelessness; the CHDF award and negative declaration are preconditions for final design and funding steps. De La Garza said INHS will continue outreach on filling Compass pad vacancies and will return to committees with further project updates.